SeasonalityAdults have been collected in Alberta in August and September.IdentificationA large (3.5 - 4.0 cm wingspan) grey-brown Abagrotis. Head and body grey-brown, unmarked. Forewings essentially unmarked except for the prominent narrow rectangular reniform partially filled with black scales (nearly obsolete in some specimens) and the paler terminal area. Hindwings unmarked sooty brown, slightly darker than the forewings. Antennae filiform. Sexes similar.
Very similar to A. erratica, which is browner, has the post-median line indicated by a series of fine dots, and has biserrate, bifasciculate male antennae. Keys to the species of Abagrotis and illustrations of adults and genitalia of both sexes are presented in Lafontaine, 1998.
Scientific NameAbagrotis orbisHabitat
Dry wooded and shrubby areas
Seasonality
Adults have been collected in Alberta in August and September.
Identification
A large (3.5 - 4.0 cm wingspan) grey-brown Abagrotis. Head and body grey-brown, unmarked. Forewings essentially unmarked except for the prominent narrow rectangular reniform partially filled with black scales (nearly…
A large (3.5 - 4.0 cm wingspan) grey-brown Abagrotis. Head and body grey-brown, unmarked. Forewings essentially unmarked except for the prominent narrow rectangular reniform partially filled with black scales (nearly obsolete in some specimens) and the paler terminal area. Hindwings unmarked sooty brown, slightly darker than the forewings. Antennae filiform. Sexes similar.
Very similar to A. erratica, which is browner, has the post-median line indicated by a series of fine dots, and has biserrate, bifasciculate male antennae. Keys to the species of Abagrotis and illustrations of adults and genitalia of both sexes are presented in Lafontaine, 1998.
Life History
There is a single annual brood in Alberta, with the adults flying in fall. The larvae are pale grey with elongated subdorsal spots on all abdominal segments. Larvae prefer the flowers of fruit trees in preference to…
There is a single annual brood in Alberta, with the adults flying in fall. The larvae are pale grey with elongated subdorsal spots on all abdominal segments. Larvae prefer the flowers of fruit trees in preference to the leaves, and are sometimes serious pests in orchards further west. Adults are attracted to both lights and sugar baits.
Conservation
Uncommon in southern Alberta; common and sometimes an agricultural pest elsewhere.
Diet Info
No Alberta data; elsewhere recorded from apple (Malus), peach and cherry (Prunus), Saskatoon (Amelanchier), cottonwood (Populus), Boxelder (Acer negundo) and grape (Vitis).
Range
Mainly southwestern North America, but extending eastward across the plains and with a large disjunct population in dune habitats in the southern Great Lakes area. It extends into western Canada only in the southern…
Mainly southwestern North America, but extending eastward across the plains and with a large disjunct population in dune habitats in the southern Great Lakes area. It extends into western Canada only in the southern interior of British Columbia and southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. In Alberta it occurs in the wooded valleys of the grasslands region, north to the Red Deer River.
//Citation and Rights Box - in-page ?>
Citation
//Citation and Rights Drawer - slide out ?>
Page Citation for Abagrotis orbis
Page Citation
"Species Details - Abagrotis orbis, University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum." University of Alberta Museums Search Site, https://search.museums.ualberta.ca/g/2-3709. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.
References
AuthorLafontaine, J. Donald
TitleNoctuoidea : Noctuidae (part-Noctuini)
Publication Date1998
Pages348
Specimen Information
There are 57 specimens of this Species.
//Map Distribution ?>
57 results plotted on map in 16 markers. Note: Only records with latitude and longitude coordinates are plotted on map.